Reicing cars.



P. H, msm.

REIGMG CARSK A'PPLlATlgrg FILED AuG.24. |914.

E 1,140,21 5. Patented May 18, 1915.

z-sHEETs-SHEET u.

l with considerable less time and expense thany PATRICK-H. TOBIN, OF DENIVSONiTEXAS.

linerente cans.

T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PATRICK H. TOBIN, a. citizen of the United States, residingA at Denison, in the county of Grayson and State ofTeXas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reicing Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a means for reicing the refrigerator cars of a railway systeni in a simple and effective manner and is now required; and theinvention consists,

essentially, of a re-icing car'which serves as Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18,1915.

'Y Appncauon mea August 24,1914. serial Nc. 858,405.

train-pipev hose, using either air or steam, may be utilized .for operating vthe several features of my apparatus, which I will presently describe.

Upon the roof of the car and occupying .substantially 'the entire width thereof, is a Superstructure which includes a horizontal ylower platform, B, suitably su ported on av storage receptacle for block-ice and is.

adapted to be coupledto a switch-engine, or

to b e otherwise propelled', 'sothat it maybe run on a track alongside va-nd'parallel with refrigerator cars to be re-iced, to supply the bunkers of the latter with afresh supply of ice, said re-icing car having'means for ele'- vating blocks of ice from -itsjinterior to a point above thereof of the car' and at such elevation that the ice may be readily con,- veyed from the elevator into the bunkersof the adjacent car; and crushing' apparatus to 'which the blocks of ice may be fed, and .f the ice crushed and reduced to suitable size previous lto being discharged into the icebunkers of the car to be iced.

My invention further consists o f the parts and constructions, arrangements and com-, binations of parts which I will hereinafter describe and claim. c In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and in which similar reference characters indicate like parts in the several views; Figure l is a side elevation .of a portion of an icing-carembodying the salient features of my invention, showing parts broken away. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Y

The purpose of this invention being to provide anicing-car adapted to operate over a track which is parallel with the train of refrigerator cars to be iced, sayat some station on its route, or whenever the supply of ice is depleted to such an extent that the refilling of the ice bunkers of said car becomes imperative, I .construct the car, A, of standard size and supply it with those accessories .with which the ordinary freight car is usually provided, including a train pipe, a,

connecting with'the steam-line ard a pipe, b, connecting with the air-line so that when the ice-car is coupled to a switch engine, the power rderived from the engine through the and secured to cross beams, C, Xed to the roof, whereby the platform is elevated a slight distance above the roof. The platform is also rigidly connected to suitable uprights, D, at the front and rear corners, and diagonal and other cross-bars, E, brace and make the superstructure rigid.

IUpon the top of the uprights, D,` is a platform, F,upon which the blocks of ice -'elevated from the interior of the car, as I will f hereinafter describe, are received and down caused to opening,

which platform these .blocks o f ice are (gravitate, or be 'pushed toward an in the central portion of said upper platform, said opening having downwardly converging Walls, g, forming a hopper for directing the blocks of ice into the hopper end of a suitable Crusher, H.

The Crusher comprises a frame creasing of suitable form, whose'base is supported on and secured 'to the baseer lower platform of the superstructure before mentioned, said casing having mountedI within it a' shaft, I, on which-is fixed any desired form of crushing-roll, J, for reducing the ice-cakes into pieces suiiciently small to be used for recharging the bunkers 'ofthe usual refrigerator car, and said Crusher casingor frame having an opening, K, on one side communicating with a suitable chute, L,'prefer ably of the telescopic order, that 'ia-formed of sections whichslide one withinthe other,

and. said chute vbeing of sufficient lengthto' extend from the outlet of the crushingl machine to the ice-bunker of a refrigerator car on an adjacent parallel track, whereby the output of the crushing machine -is inimec diately dischar ed through the chute into the bunker of t e car to be re-iced. When lthis operation has been effected, `the chute may, if desired, be collapsed or its sections, slid together, and the icing-car with its crushing outfit and storage of ice may be moved, by aswitch engine or otherwise, into operation 1s again performed 1n v a largeholding'capaoityand hence it serves as'a storage reservoir for the blocks .of ice which are' used in re-icing the refrigerator cars; and in order to expedite the recharg- 'ing of the bunkers of the refrigerator oars;

f and to perform this operation with as little lso ' ezpense as possible and with great rapidity,

I. have provided means forl elevating the biloclrsoif ice from the interior of the car to the upperplatform, F, of the car-roof superstructure so that the blocks are taken directlyA from the car and immediately sent to the crushing apparatus, and the crushed ice immediately delivered into the bunkers of thel car to be re-iced. By handling the ice in such an expeditious manner there is but little time lost in the re-icing operation and little or no chance of ice waste by exposure or otherwise. Any Suitable elevating mechy anism' may be employed for removing the cakes of ice from the interior of the car to the receiving platform, F, of the car-roof superstructure before mentioned. In vthe l present drawings I have shown an elevator which consistsvof suitable uprights, M, fixed to the floor of the car and projecting through a hatch-way or opening, N, in the roof of the car, saiduprights, being arranged paraly lel with each other to form a guideway and extendingl to such height above the receiving platform of the roof superstructure as to insure the proper handling of the ice cake and the ready delivery ofthe same upon the re ceiving platform, F. y

lVithin the guideway formed bythe para-llel ,npr-ights, M, suitable cages or lifts, 0, are designed to operate, said cages or lifts 'being connected to appropriate ropes or cables, P, which pass upwardly over suit able guide pulleys, Q, mounted in the upper portion ofthe framework formed by the aforesaid uprights and suitable cross bars, M Y.

In the drawings I have shown two elevators, one placedalongside of the other and each constructed. as before `mentioned,

which lariangen'ient permits me to handle the ice with ral'sidity, but it will be understood that the arrangement andA speciiic character' of the ice-elevator may be greatly modified without departing from 'the spirit of my invention; and that the elevator shown in the drawing is but illustrative of any means `for elevating the blocks of ice from the interior of the icing car to the receiving platform of the roelt superstructure.

In Fig. l. I show mounted upon the lower platform, B, of the frame or superstructure luilt lupon the top of the car, an engine, Il, foroperatingthe elevator and which engine has its vvpiston rod, It', connected to the crank ofva Winding drum, S, over which the cable leading from the cages, t), may be car in the train, but it will be evident thaty v other and different forms of motor, or motive power may be used for operating the ice-elevator, Without departing from the spirit of my invention. Suitable means will also be provided on the 'car for operating the ice Crusher. 1

In Fig. 2 I show on the end of the Crusher shaft, I, a band wheel, T, from which a belt,

. U, passes around a similar wheel, V, and the shaft of a suitable gas or other engine, W, located within the car near one en and suitably supported upon the floor o-said car. This engine may be typical of any motor operated by any means and from any source of poweifor operating the'crushng.

machine. g

The general o eration of the icing-cutis substantially, as ibllows: The ice-oar operating with the ice-Crusher and ice-elevator and vhaving its supply ef ice-in cake-form, is

coupledto an engine, and to this end thek i connection may be such that the power for operating the Crusher and the elevator may be derived from the air or steam supply from the engine, although these features are 'not claimed and formed no essential part of the present invention. If a switch engine is notavailable then the gasolene engine, W, may be used for the purpose of operating the Crusher and elevator.

'Vhen the car is being operated itis placed on a track parallel with thetrain of i refrigerator cars which is to be iced. It is run alongside of a carT requiring re-ioin so that the chute from the crushing mac ine will stand substantially opposite the ieebunkers of a car inthe train-to vbe i'ed, whereby' the chute from the ice-car extends over and bridges the space between the two cars and reaches over and is adapted to deliver the crushed ice -intok the mouth of the ice-bunker of the car tb be iced. L If crushed ice 'is not desired for' the bunker of the refrigerator car, the cakes 'of ice may besent to the refrigerator car direct through the chute or otherwise. If crushed ice is desi red fory the bunkers of the refrigeratorvcar,

the cakes of ice are successively placed upon e the ice-Crusher, within which Crusher they are reduced and thel crushed icedelivered into the chute and atonce gravitates therethrough into the bunker of the ear to be iced. When the bunker at one end of a car is filled the ice-car is moved to the other end of the vrefrigerator car, and the chute e from thecrushing machine is placed in position to deliver ice nto the second-named j icing.

' 10 car is reduced to a minimum, and the reicing o 'eration is performed with safety.

. I am a so able to re-ice a' car without disturbing it from amade-u train, as the icecar is aj storage car an may be run up alongside of the car to be rfi-icedl without disturbing in any manner this latter car.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 2,0 "1. Means for, re-icing a refrigerator car or the like while in position on a railway track, said means includin an icing car ada ted to travel on a tracl which is paralle to that on which the refrigerator car is -mounted, said icing car having a roof structure provided with an elevated ice-re` ceiving platform; means for elevatingthe 'cakes of ice from the interior-.of the carto said elevated ice-receiving platform; means for crushin the cakes of ice, said ice-crush- -ing means eing supported on the roof of the car and directly receiving the cakes of ice from vsaid platform; and means adapted to extend from said car to a car on an adjacenti parallel vtrack for conveying ,the

crushed ice from said crushing means to the -v ice bunkers of said adjacent car.

, 2. Means for .re-icing a refrigerator car or. the like while in positionon a railway track, said means including an icing car adapted to travel on a track which 1s parhandlingl the ice in the manner de refrigerator car to be re-ced.

kin presence o ausi that en vqhih chemfgeramr wie, mo ted, saidv icing car having a roof prof vided with an elevated ice-receiving .platn 1 form; an elevatf'irV mounted in the car and extending through thereof thereof to a.v

int above and'adacent said latform; an ice-crusher mou'xite on said atform having an ice-inletconnectin'g with-'said plats: 5 0 with the outlet of the "spacev form, and having an outlet for crushed ice'; and a chute connecting the crusher and adapte to bridge between the icing car and the bunkers o the 3. A railway icing car having a frames work or superstructure on the roof thereof,

said framework includin receiving platform, an e evatorf within the car operating through the roof thereof and 6.0 rom said extending to a point above said latform, and a chute or runwa leadin an' elevated ice# frame and adaptedto ridge t e space be tweenthe icing car and a car to be ie-icediV 4. A railway icing car having a frame' work or superstructure on thereof thereof, said framework includin an elevated ice receiving -platform, an e evator Within ,the

car operating through the roof thereof, and

extending to a point above said platform, au" y ice-crusher connecting with and directly receiving ice deposited on said platform, said crusherhaving a crushed ice outlet, anda chute` having one end connecting with the outlet of the crusher and the opposite end adapted to connect with the ice bunkers'fxj an adjacent parallel car.

In testimon whereof I aliix my signature two witnesses. PATRICK H. TOBIN.

Witnesses: i

WM. G. MEGINNIs, THOMAS' FOLEY. 

